Barely a week using lindows.Here's what I found out.

1. The boot/startup process was way too slow compared to vector,knoppix,slakc and even mandrake. Took about 2-3 minutes on my Athlon xp 2.4G. I think too many modules anre attempted to be loaded and I get a lot of insmod errors.

2. It keeps on installing drivers for Lucent modem which I do not have.

3. the first time I tried to connect to the internet as a user kppp "died" .Works as root though.I still am waiting for a fix from the forum in lindows.com

4. the default web browser was too slow. and sometimes freezes. If you use the tool to close freezed programs you cannot open that program anymore unless you log out.

5. Unless you disable "jiffyboot" it will take over the MBR.

I am sure there are other things that might come out from this "strange" distro. I have to say that I am a first impressionist and I am sorry to say that this distro is not worth the money!

Lindows is such a nice OS I had it installed and up in less then 20 minutes.

I tried LindowsOS when it was available to be downloaded for free. (Googleday)
I didn't like it at all, I think it's now even good for beginners since they may get a wrong view in Linux.

So, if you'd like to try Linux, Mandrake or Fedora would be a good choice for beginners

Everyone has different needs for computing. LindowsOS does not directly compete against other Linux distros. Our feeling is whatever you think works best for you -- use it! If you prefer Mandrake, Suse, Fedora, or any other version of Linux use it if it meets your needs.

But, we see a lot of comments like these on the Lindows.com forums. People who really just don't like Lindows.com for some reason or another. Some dislike us because we charge for our products. Other people have complex hardware setups and can't get it to install. Others are upset because it doesn't have features X, Y, or Z that distro [insert_name_here] has.

LindowsOS is a totally different product aimed at a totally different market. A lot of long-time Linux users don't understand this about LindowsOS. Our product is aimed to Microsoft Windows users. We aren't trying to sell to other Linux users. If you already have a favorite distro and it's working for you -- then keep using it!

The goal of Lindows.com is to go after the retail distribution channels. We want to sell computers that come preinstalled with LindowsOS on them. -- this way we can ensure the buyer that the hardware will work with LindowsOS 100%. We also realize that a lot of non-technical users will NEVER in a million years go to a store and buy an operating system. They will not download it or attempt to install it themselves. Most of the world is made up of non-technical people. These people don't know what a CPU is and they don't care. They want to turn on their computer, use a few programs, send email, surf the web, and turn the computer off. They don't sit around thinking about operating systems -- and quite honestly they don't want to.... ever.

This is the target audience of LindowsOS. Before AOL came along, the Internet was complicated andd far too technical for most people. You had to know how to configure your modem, set up initialization strings, you had to know how to use a SLIP or PPP account, and you had to know where to go and what to do on the Internet. Not so hard huh? No -- not for computer geeks -- it's not. But, this is why millions and mlllions of people were not online. It was too complicated for them and frankly it scared them to death. Then, along came AOL. They made it very easy and friendly to get connected to the Internet. They made a nice GUI and made it comfortable for non-geeks to figure out how to do things like send email. Now they have like 30,000,000 customers!

Lindows.com is trying to make it easy for non-technical people to learn how to use Linux. I know that there are some people who will NEVER understand this. But, it doesn't matter. Because we are not trying to sell our OS to those people anyway. The great thing about Linux is that there is CHOICE! You are free to run whatever OS you want. If you are happy running RedHat... what do you care if someone else wants to run Mandrake..... or SuSe...... or Xandros...... or LindowsOS? We recommend that everyone try out a variety of different versions of Linux and then make up your own mind. The CNR (click and run) product that LindowsOS has is a monumental break through for non-technical people. Sure, most of you can "apt-get" or use RPM's --- but, 96% of the world can't and they are looking for an easier alternative. Linux has come a long way on the desktop during the last 4 years. But, even though some of you might think that it is pretty easy to use -- a large majority of non-techncial people would still disagree with you. They will continue to run MS Windows or MacOS until there is a version of Linux easy enough for them to use.

You're right -- LindowsOS does not have a bunch of tools for advanced partitioning and it doesn't support multiple operating systems very well. It doesn't have a bunch of technical stuff that would make the average geek happy. Most geeks are powerusers (myself included). And, there might be some computing needs that you have that are not met by LindowsOS. And, yes there are some types of hardware that just won't work in LindowsOS. But, I think that you'll find that this is true with a lot of different operating systems.

But, LindowsOS that comes preinstalled on a machine works right out of the box. If you ever have to do a reinstall it takes about 10 minutes. It configures a lot of devices (like network cards, printers, etc..) automatically right of the box. It has an easy to use graphical method for installing software. You just browse the categories you like (Business & Finance, Games, MP3 & Audio, Multimedia, etc...) and select the programs you want to install. You click a button. It downloads the program, configures it, and puts and icon on your desktop! No dependency or library package problems -- you don't have to think about it. You just click on it and install it. Done!

LindowsOS is not for everybody. But, it is doing a very good job of getting newbies interested in Linux. The more people that switch to Linux -- the better! That means that more hardware and software manufacturers will start to produce Linux versions of their products. That means that drivers will get written for Linux!

When Linux wins -- we all win!

Do I have to rephrase my post in the form of a question?
These replies and a lot of others are one reason why Linux has a lot of work to do in order to compete with windows. Instead of answering or providing solutions the reply is almost always--LIVE US ALONE AND USE OTHER DISTROS!

Come on guys. Despite all of my comments I still have lindows on my pc and right now using Opera for this post on lindows. I finally solved the kppp problem myself. I have posted my solution the lindows forum for beginners under the same user name.
If your target audience is just America where you can easily get a pc preloaded with lindows or linux then I might as well shut the **** up.But since you are in the net and is viewed by the whole world then you have to addresss these problems in a more constructive way. Case in point is your statement that " Our product is aimed to Microsoft Windows users.". How will you convince windows users in Asia like me who don't have pcs with lindows preloaded to use your product? Most windows users have winmodems. Do you have instructions for using winmodems on lindows?Obviously none because you cannot compile drivers without a compiler installed. Then you will say install a compiler i.e. gcc using click and run. If modem( or in my case kpp) does not work how will click n run work?
Yes lindows can be reinstalled in 10 minutes-but in the process loss all the settings you did before. There is no provision for saving the settings somewhere.

I know many people who switched from Windows to Lindows. And now, some of them have moved onto other distros, and some have stayed with lindows. So in that aspect it is a good Distro. Lindows is fairly new and needs some time to mature and have a more wide user base. I bet that if Lindows is still around in a year, It will be much better.

In some cases, there aren't solutions yet. As long as your hardware is supported by Linux you will probably do OK. But, things like WinModems can be problematic. If we had a solution -- we would certainly give it to you. Right now, the best solution that I could offer would be to try to find a modem that works with LindowOS. There are many models out there that work fine -- quite a few of our Members are using dial-up modems. Lindows.com refers to LindowsOS as a "broadband OS" and they are working towards a target audience that has high-speed connections.

Currently, we are starting in our own backyard and working our way to other locations. A majority of our market is currently in America where you can buy LindowsOS machines preinstalled. But, we have started to expand to Mexico and Japan where you can buy preinstalled computers running LindowsOS. We still have some work to do in getting distributors and builders in Europe, Australia, and Asia. But, we are working on it. I hope that in the future you can buy a preinstalled machine with LindowOS -- you'll see what a big difference it makes!

LIndowsOS actually does work with some WinModems. But, there are a lot of chipsets out there. Most of the problem here is with the manufacturers -- they have made propprietary products that rely on MS Windows software rather than hardware and they do not release Linux drivers for their products. If there are drivers available, Lindows.com will include them in the OS by default. One thing that you can do is check with the manufacturer before buying their hardware -- make sure that it runs on Linux first. If not, spend your money on a product that does. Also -- write to and call these companies. Let them know that you want Linux support for their products! The more people that do this -- the better. These companies need to know that there are other operating systems out there besides MS Windows. If you want to find out more about chipsets and modem support under LindowsOS please visit this site:

http://www.lindows.com/modems

I do have a winmodem-a PCTEL 56k . I have compiled the drivers in los 4.5 developers and it is working fine. The drivers came with the modem cd.

I agree with lindowskendall: I installed it (10 minutes) and it works fine. Picked up all my hardware, etc. There are still some things I have to get used to, but I can see where this would be a good system for an "average" windows-user to switch over to, and start using. I have used lots of Linux systems and at this current time anyway, I like Lindows. I think it is the best tool out there to "break" Windows. I decided to use the click-n-run simply because I want to support them (financially) in their war against windows (or should I say windows war against Lindows). If Lindows wins, and I believe they will, windows loses. That is good enough for me.

what sucks is u cant install rpms

I understand your point, and for the first time in a long time am going to be a bit more optimistic about something. Therefore I appreciate your attempts at helping the community in different ways. What still annoys me a lot is the huge amount of marketing and popularizations (read: simpy giving some general -and usually false- insight to avoid 'complexity'/achieve commercial goals) on your websites. At least make your website differ from one of a super commercial uber corp.

i wouldnt say that their site like uber commercial. Compare the Lindows site to the Microsoft site. Compleatly different. and what does a look of a websit have to do with a distro?

I have already explained all that in another thread in this forum....

Sorry wrong post!